


tuesday #009e60

by blueplutoberry



Series: 7 days (a week) [5]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Drabble, Fluff, Gen, Lee Jeno-centric, Mentioned Mark Lee (NCT), not much going on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:28:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28567722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueplutoberry/pseuds/blueplutoberry
Summary: tuesday is for "seeing a cat on the street, a light rain shower, untied shoelaces, indistinct music from someone else’s earphones, empty coffee shops, denim jackets, long train rides"
Series: 7 days (a week) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2085363
Kudos: 3





	tuesday #009e60

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by this [tumblr post](https://esperides.tumblr.com/post/171178953245/tag-your-vibe)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The road to work is always hard. Because Jeno needs to wake up really early, get dressed and be in the cafe at least two hours before opening, to prepare everything, clean the tables once again, turn on all the coffee machines because for some reason they need a lot of time to work properly, and he needs to start baking cakes. Sometimes his co-workers do all the stuff for him, but today’s not the day. Today he needs to do most of the work himself, because Mark took a day off, and Jaemin has something important and can’t be that early. But that’s okay. He can do this by himself.

Tuesday is the day for walking to work because it’s the only day when his train has a different time schedule, which is completely unfavourable for him. So he sticks up to walking, which is not that bad really. Only 20 more minutes, during which he can look around the city, and breathe fresh air that is lacking in the city centre where he works. And today on his road he sees a cat. Black, small kitten that’s lying on the street with its limbs stretched in every direction. And seeing Jeno it gets up and approaches him. Jeno loves cats, even though he has an allergy to fur. Somehow he manages to fight it off and is a proud owner of three cats himself. It’s sometimes hard because his eyes hurt after a long time of playing with them, and they are red and teary. But for most of the time he plays with them normally. He loves cats so much that he can’t restrain himself from petting the little one. Especially, since the kitten approached him itself.

“Hi, kitty,” he says sweetly, crouching next to the cat. People pass around him, not even looking at them, and he doesn’t pay any attention to them either. “Are you lost?” The cat is so small that it’s weird seeing it wandering alone on the street. And Jeno thinks that it’s probably lost and that its owner must be worrying. And for a minute Jeno’s considering taking a kitten with himself, and making posters. But he can't because he has work to do, and a lost kitten in the coffee shop is not a good idea, he thinks. And right that moment someone approaches him. An old lady with a little kid by her side, tells him that the kitten - Ilsik is its name - is theirs, and that they’re living next door and the cat often leaves their home through an open window and onto the street. 

“Isn’t he cute?” the little girl asks, crouching next to Jeno and petting the cat. Jeno nods and answers that it’s not really safe to let the little cat wander on the crowded street, especially with so many cars. The lady just nods, as if ignoring Jeno’s words completely. And Jeno wants to add something, but he doesn’t have time for arguing with a lady anyway, since he’s almost already late for work. He gets up and waving goodbye at the kitty and the little girl, goes away.

He’s at work early, just like he planned, and exactly before the rain. It started raining when he was just a few blocks away, but right when he entered the cafe it got heavier. Not too much though, but enough for getting soaked. A light, summer shower that happens from time to time. Jeno would even stay outside if not for the work he has to do. He turns on the coffee express machines and the oven, and starts to make a butter for the cakes.

A few minutes before the opening hour Jaemin enters the cafe, soaking wet. He takes off his raincoat, cursing quietly under his nose and Jeno is laughing at him. He looks so funny with wet hair covering his eyes.

“I hate the rain.” he announces, when Jeno hands him a small towel. The other nods and walks away. He likes it, especially warm rain. Jaemin then puts on an apron and stands behind the counter, leaning on elbows, head on his palms, eyes closed.

“Aaanyway, it smells incredible.”

“Thanks. I barely did them.” Jeno answers, because it’s true. He was late to work and he was scared that the cakes wouldn’t be done before the customers came. But he did it, and he’s more than proud of himself.

“Oh, wait.” Jaemin stops him when the other is about to walk to the glass counter to put the cakes in there. The muffins and other cookies are already there, and he’s surprised that he was able to bake all of these. Some of the sweets are from the packages he’s ordering from the nearby bakery, but still, the amount is quite impressive. Jeno looks down and he sees Jaemin kneeling in front of him.

“You’ve got your shoelaces untied.” he says quickly, tying them. And he tied them a little too tight for Jeno’s liking, but the other decided not to correct him. “It would be a shame if you tripped over them and threw the cakes on the floor or something.”

“So it’s not about me getting possibly hurt?”

“No, cakes are more important, because what would our clients eat with their coffee?” Jeno laughs and shakes his head in disbelief. Oh, how he values Jaemin’s painful frankness. 

At 2 pm there are a lot of people in the cafe because it’s a lunch break, and because there are so many company buildings around, people naturally visit their cafe. And most of their cakes are getting sold, and they need to refill the beans in the express machines. Renjun, another co-worker, starts his shift right before the lunch break, and now they are working together. Music playing in the background and the atmosphere is nice, is calm, is like what Jeno most likes while working in the cafe. That’s why he started this business in the first place. Because the smell of freshly brewed coffee and sweet cakes and pastries is what he loves the most in his life. Aside from cats, obviously.

An hour before the closing time the cafe is almost empty. Only single customers sitting in the corners or by the windows, drinking their late coffee, reading books or shuffling through their phones. The lights are dimmed to create a cozy atmosphere. Jaemin already left, his morning shift ended after lunchtime, and Jeno is left with Renjun, because as an owner he likes to stay till late. Closing the shop, being sure that everything is okay, because he’s sometimes a perfectionist and sometimes oversensitive, but at least nothing bad has ever happened thanks to that. And it’s not that he doesn’t trust his workers, that’s just what he’s like.

Renjun is sitting on the stool by the counter with his earphones on, writing something on his phone, and Jeno is standing next to him and he can hear the quiet music he listens to. It’s a song he doesn’t recognize, but he can hear the indistinct guitar and someone’s sweet vocal. And the song is nice, fitting perfectly into the cafe vibes, the dark sky outside the window, and the flickering street lamp that no one has repaired yet. Renjun, feeling the other’s gaze on him, looks up and smiles at Jeno. Jeno reciprocates the smile, his eyes change into two crescent moons - so beautiful, leaving a warm-like feeling in one’s stomach. And after a few silent minutes the last client leaves the cafe, ringing a bell on the door. Renjun goes to lock the door and changes the signboard from open to close.

“Let’s clean this fast and let’s go home.” he says, as he goes to the dirty cups and plates left on the tables. They still need to do the dishes, and pack the sweets that are left uneaten. Sometimes Jeno brings it home and eats it for dinner - if he’s in the mood for something sweet. Sometimes, if there are a lot of left, he’s taking it to the shelters for the homeless. But this time there’s almost nothing left and Renjun proposes to take it for his parents. Jeno eagerly gives it to him.

After an hour they are done and they bid goodbye in front of the shop, Renjun going one direction, Jeno another. They live quite far away from each other, but that’s because Jeno opened the cafe right in the centre of the city. There are not many houses around, and even if there are they’re way too expensive for anyone. Especially for them.

“Oh, we’re wearing the same jackets!” Renjun points out Jeno's denim jacket. They didn’t notice it before, but right now, standing in front of each other it’s hard not to spot it. It’s early summer but the nights are still pretty cold. So Jeno brought the jacket with him for that part of the day specially. He likes it, because he hates wearing too many layers of clothes, or thick winter coats. But he doesn’t like when it's too hot either, because he feels like melting even wearing a simple t-shirt. Hence, summer nights are the best.

“Oh, you’re right.” he laughs, because what else can he do. He’s surprised that they have exactly the same jackets, and normally he would feel uncomfortable because of that probably, but it’s okay. It’s funny. “Well, anyway, see you tomorrow.”

The ride home is normally not long if Jeno chooses the train. It’s just a few stops and then about 5 minutes from the train station. But sometimes he chooses a longer route. The train that stops at every little station at which normally it wouldn’t stop. And instead of going straight to the main destination, it is going around. And it’s quite pleasant. Sitting in the end of the train, hearing its knocking on the rails, hearing murmurs and echoes of people riding with Jeno. It’s already dark, but the lamps that are spread along with the track enlighten the inside of the train. Shimmer on tired people’s faces. But it’s not obtrusive or blinding. It’s just right. And Jeno likes riding like that from to time. He likes tuesdays because such rides often happen on tuesdays. Because he didn’t ride the train in the morning, so the night drive is even more special.

And tomorrow’s a new day.


End file.
